Welcome all! This blog is designed to discuss films about or inspired by the life of Jesus ranging in production date from Cecil B. DeMille’s 1927 The King of Kings to Mark Dornford-May's 2006 Son of Man. We're a blog written by members of a masters-level class, but we welcome participation from anyone.
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| from The Last Temptation of Christ, 1988 |
Here we're concerned with films as sources of information about American Christianity, and as potentially influential versions of sacred stories in their own right, with their own audiences, intentions and contexts. We will examine and engage with the aesthetic and ethical choices of filmmakers as well as the creative and technological decisions they make. We will pay attention to how Jesus films have been interpreted and understood by those who watch them, particularly when they have been controversial. We will continually ask what the films tell us about the society and cultures in which they are produced, and about what assumptions about religion, gender, race, social conflict and national identity they bring to the table. In understanding the variety of representations in and the plurality of reactions to Jesus films, we hope to better understand contemporary cultural meanings of the Christian tradition.
Feel free to join the conversation, comment and ask questions!
